Monday, 14 July 2008

Celtic Frost's comeback stroked climacteric perfection with the release of Monotheist, and was my favourite of 2006. It is beautifully paced, poised, challenging, excellent, and meritoriously unconventional. The release being unconventional, I believe is one following its stylistic movement within the genre, and on the topic it's difficult to really home onto placing it within a simplified genre or six. A modern doom feature, perhaps? Or more avant-garde modern gothic doom may be a further suitable generic standpoint.

"Progeny" contains more obvious, (typical blackened thrash metal) CF qualities we've heard throughout the years, and as we change gears, and carry onto "Ground", we're introduced into an album riddled with degree-less atmosphere, and motionless characteristics which follow suit. There's a delicacy, and sheer brute within "A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh". It's characterised by the teeth (and fist)-clenching grind its choruses appear to have, along with the contrast of the absolve, the tracks beginnings and bridges appear to have, which are tense and still. The doom idler follows throughout the next phase of the album. One of my favourites is "Os Absymi Vel Daath", whereby its movement is simply drone-ful and indulgent, carrying heaps of brutality, and simplicity, I'm often retained contemplating "Why haven't I thought of this already!” We also get a dose of that industrial ambience within "Os Absymi Vel Daath" and, "Obscured". Furthermore Monotheist is intricately complex, accompanied with wildly towering expectations; which it arises too. Finally departing with "Synagoga Satanae", we finish with the lush fourteen minute harmony and feedback tracking combined with the slow rot doom riffing toward the last third of the track. It feels brilliantly dark, sombre, plaintive, and brutal.

Another definitive design by Celtic Frost, which complemented there comeback justifiably - 5/5.